


Breathless

by alcoholandregret



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, M/M, a coffee shop/college au no one asked for for a ship no one asked for, but listen I will die defending these two okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2017-05-23
Packaged: 2018-11-04 02:06:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10981101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alcoholandregret/pseuds/alcoholandregret
Summary: He misses the ice. Mikey reminds him of the rink, in an odd way.





	Breathless

**Author's Note:**

> Listen I doubt this even happens but if you got here by looking up your name or the name of someone you personally know please do not read this for your sanity and mine. it's for the best.

Jake’s pretty familiar with Michael McLeod. He comes in the café around nine in the morning nearly every day and orders the same complicated too-sweet drink with what is definitely way too much caffeine.  
  
_"Uh, four espresso shots? Are you sure?" Jake couldn't be hearing him right._  
  
_"Positive. I have three classes and a practice today," the kid gave him a half-hearted thumbs up._  
  
_"Right, okay," he said with a shrug and went to make the order, occasionally asking to make sure he added everything._  
  
_"Thanks, uh, Jake." His smile was tired when he took the cup, but it certainly wouldn't be after he drank the caffeine monstrosity._  
  
_"Sure thing. Have a good day-"_  
  
_"Michael. Mikey."_  
  
_"Mikey."_  
  
He's tall - not that Jake is particularly small, per say, but there's definitely a little, but noticeable, difference between the two of them. Mikey has a habit of crouching down when he talks to Jake, leaning against the counter, elbows propped up and head in his hands.  
  
Mikey thinks it's funny.  
  
Jake doesn't see the point, but he lets him have his fun. Besides, it's not like he wouldn't be able to hear Mikey even if the difference in their height was three feet instead of about three inches. He's a little loud, yes - especially when he comes in in the afternoon instead of the morning, but what else could be expected of a college age boy drinking four espresso shots a day? Still, that isn't why he's easily heard - Jake is just drawn to his voice. Something about the way he talks is soft but still compels you to listen.  
  
_"Jaaaake," he'd whined loudly as soon as he walked into the shop, as though they didn't have any customers that were just trying to have a quiet morning._  
  
_Jake just nodded at him and started to make his drink, "what, Mikey?"_  
  
_"'M tired. Game went into OT yesterday and I have an exam in an hour and a half that I had to study for." He folded his forearms on the counter and rested his cheek on them, looking up at Jake._  
  
_"Good thing I have your absurdly caffeinated drink for you, then."_  
  
_He set the drink on the counter and put a liberal amount of whipped cream on top - he always did that when Mikey was having a rough day._  
  
_"You're the best, Jakes."_  
  
_"It's what I'm paid for," he shrugged._  
  
_"Nah," he said, straightening up and pulling his wallet out of his pocket, "you're paid to just make drinks and hand them over. But you're like, a person."_  
  
_"Thanks?"_  
  
_Jake noticed the C on the community college's hockey team hoodie that Mikey was wearing when he took the cash._  
  
_"I didn't know you were captain."_  
  
_"Huh?"_  
  
_Jake gestured to the place the C would rest if it were on his own chest._  
  
_"Oh, yeah," Mikey said with a shrug._  
  
_"That's cool," Jake smiled, unsure of what else to say, and turned to the register._  
  
_"Just keep the change."_  
  
_"Are you sure?"_  
  
_"Positive," Mikey laughed and turned to leave with a wave._  
  
_Staring at the name and number on the back of the hoodie as he left, Jake realised he shouldn't be so surprised - the kid has the presence and tone of a captain._  
  
Of course, with Mikey comes Nate. It's just how it works, Jake has noticed. Any time Mikey has a morning off or skips the morning coffee to come in in the afternoon, Nate is in tow. Those days Mikey doesn't leave after he gets his drink, and the two of them sit at a table and joke around for an hour or so before leaving.  
  
Jake sees Mikey more on days that Nate is there, hears him laugh more, and in that way they're better than the mornings when Mikey comes in half asleep and doesn't stick around after he gets his drink. But he also hardly gets to talk to him at all when Nate's around, so in that way they're not all that great.  
  
Nate's a nice enough kid, in Jake's opinion. A little quieter, but still one of the most smiley people he sees - and he just drinks regular black coffee, the most refreshing of orders to make.  
  
He offers a good balance for Mikey, he thinks.

_“Do I have to order a coffee from you to make you stop staring at those two? I'll do it, for your sake," Conor said, poking him in the side and making him jump._ _  
__  
__"I'm not staring," he said, trying to will his face to not actually be as red as he knew it was, "and sure, order a coffee for my sake. Because you definitely don't just want coffee and you definitely don't just not want to make it yourself."_ _  
__  
__"I'm always ready to take one for the team, Guentz," Conor grinned and punched him in the shoulder. "And I actually want a mint hot chocolate with whipped cream and-"_ _  
__  
__Conor stopped when a voice behind them said, "um, excuse me?"_ _  
__  
__Jake turned around and spoke at the same time as Conor._ _  
__  
__"Can I help you?"_ _  
__  
__"Yes, Nate?"_ _  
__  
__Nathan smiled at Conor but looked at Jake, and Jake had to try not to laugh when Conor deflated and went to go make his own hot chocolate._ _  
__  
__"We have a pretty big game this weekend and Mikey," he paused before continuing, not breaking eye contact, "and I wanted to know if you'd be interested in coming."_ _  
__  
__A glance over his shoulder and Jake saw Mikey sat at the table, just staring directly at his phone. He looked like a statue._ _  
__  
__"I might be covering a shift this weekend, but, sure, if I can. Uh, just," he pulled a pen out of his pocket and wrote his number on a napkin, "text me when it is so I don't forget?"_ _  
__  
__Nate took the napkin with a grin and nodded. There was a thud and both of them looked over to see Mikey with his head now on the table._ _  
__  
__"Is he okay?"_ _  
__  
__"Tired," Nate sighed. "I'll see you."_ _  
__  
__He collected Mikey, and Jake thought he heard Nate say "well I told you_ you _should have asked," before the door shut behind him._ _  
__  
__"You are going to that game," Conor said, leaning against the counter, sipping at his hot chocolate and effectively getting whipped cream all over his nose. "I'll cover Rusty's shift if I have too."_ _  
__  
__"Yeah?"_ _  
__  
__"Always taking one for the team, remember?" Conor smiled wide, and the look on his face combined with the whipped cream made Jake laugh as he rolled his eyes._ _  
__  
__"Sure, Shears."_  
  
One more thing he's learned about Mikey is that he's _really_ good at hockey. He's fast and his hands are so soft, it's amazing to watch. The on-ice chemistry he has with Nate is easily comparable to it off-ice, and it leads to some exciting hockey. Any time Mikey is on the ice Jake can't take his eyes off of him.  
  
But maybe that's just because it's Mikey.  
  
He's gone to as many games as he can since then, tells himself it's for the atmosphere he missed too much - the smell of the air, the cold against his cheeks. It's not the same from the stands as it is from actually being in the rink with skates under his feet, but he'll take it.  
  
It's certainly not for the smile Mikey's given him any time he sees him, but he won't lie and say it's not a bonus, at least.  
  
_"Jakes!" Mikey waved, skating up to the glass in front of where he was sitting._ _  
__  
__Jake waved back, and when Mikey motioned for him to come down the three rows to the glass, Jake rolled his eyes and obliged._ _  
__  
__"I thought you worked tonight! But Nater said you'd asked what time the game was earlier today so I wasn't sure if maybe you'd be here."_ _  
__  
__"I worked overnight yesterday so I have the day off."_ _  
__  
__Since Conor broke his wrist doing who knows what, his schedule had been pretty all over the place instead of his usual day shift. He hadn't even seen Mikey in days._ _  
__  
__Jake wondered how Scott handled making Mikey's coffee in the morning. Not well, probably._ _  
__  
__"Holy shit aren't you tired?"_ _  
__  
__"A little," he shrugged with a small smile, "and aren't you supposed to be warming up?"_ _  
__  
__Mikey flipped him off and skated away, and Jake couldn't help but laugh. "Score a hatty for me!" He shouted at his back before going back to his seat._

_When Mikey netted his third goal in the second, he crashed into the boards in front of Jake, and his smile was bright enough it could put the sun to shame, probably. When he and his teammates went to go back to the bench, he turned and pointed to Jake with a nod._  
  
_Jake just laughed and shook his head._  
  
_"You know McLeod?" The guy next to him asked, eyebrow raised._  
  
_"Only kind of," he'd shrugged with one shoulder. It was the truth._  
  
_"Oh, that's cool."_  
  
_Jake didn't see what was so cool about it - Mikey is actually a pretty big dork. A dork that scored a hat trick. Supposedly for him. Maybe._  
  
Going to the games really only just barely satisfies his need to go to a rink. Sure, on the rare off day he shares with a coworker, occasionally they play a little street hockey at a local park, and it's nice, but it's also not the same. He misses the ice.  
  
Mikey reminds him of the rink, in an odd way.  
  
For one, he almost always has hockey stuff on - for his current team, his high school team, the New Jersey Devils for some reason, you name it.  
  
But, more than that, Mikey's cheeks seem to always have the flush you get from the biting chill of the ice when he's in the cafe, and Jake wonders if he does too. The cold air can take your breath away if you're not careful, and when he looks at Mikey, well, he thinks maybe he hasn't been very careful after all.  
  
There's a certain feeling he gets in his chest when he's on ice. Elation, maybe. It just feels lighter. Like anything can happen.  
  
He likes to believe anything can happen.  
  
He laces up his skates at a rink he'd only just found out about - it's about an hour from his apartment - and wiggles his toes, smiling. He had them sharpened before he got there, and just having them on feels like coming home.  
  
He sits there and stares at his feet for what feels like an eternity, but really couldn't be that long, because the rink is a siren and she's singing to draw him in. Who is he to resist that for long?  
  
If putting his skates on felt like coming home, words couldn't describe how he feels as he steps onto the ice and slowly pushes himself forward - like everything is right in the universe. This is where he's meant to be.  
  
He watches the small children that are learning to skate, helps up a boy that can't be any more than four when he slides into the boards in front of him, and offers a small smile to his parents when they thank him. He watches the couples skating in lazy circles, hands linked between them. He watches the middle schoolers crashing into each other, and relishes in the sound of skates on ice and bodies against the boards.  
  
The only thing that would be better is if a stick was in his hands, he thinks, but beggars can't be choosers. He's content to just skate; he'd do it until he couldn't feel his legs if he could.  
  
He only narrowly misses the blur that almost takes him out, making a hard stop before the other person collided with him. The boy stops a few feet away, spraying snow everywhere.  
  
And is that-?  
  
"Oh my god, I'm sorry," Mikey turns around, "Jake?"  
  
"Believe it or not this isn't hockey practice," he just laughs, gliding over so he’s stood next to him, "you don't need to check anyone."  
  
They stand there with dumb smiles on their faces until Nate stops next to them. "Hey, Jake."  
  
"Hi Nate, how are you?"  
  
"I'm good, uh-" he looks between them, "I gotta go back to my dorm, Trent broke something again."  
  
Mikey nods, "of course."  
  
"If you want to keep skating I could use some company?" Jake says before he can stop himself. "As long as you don't try to kill me again, of course," he adds to lighten it up a little.  
  
Mikey nods, a wide grin plastered to his face, "sounds good. I'll need a ride, though. Nater drove."  
  
"I can do that."

They say their goodbyes to Nathan, who shakes Jake's shoulder before skating off.  
  
Putting on his skates felt like coming home, and stepping on ice felt like everything was right in the universe, but skating while Mikey laughs beside him feels like everything Jake has been missing.  
  
The cold air and Mikey's presence take his breath away, and the vibrations of _anything can happen_ coarse up from the ice and through his body, and he can't imagine anything better.  
  
Free skate ends sooner than he'd like, and it's time for them to go. He still feels breathless as they unlace their skates and head to his car, riding the high of skating again. He still feels breathless when they get in the car and laugh about nothing at all.  
  
He still feels breathless when Mikey leans over and into his space before he can put his keys in the ignition, gently takes his face in his hands, and hesitates, waiting for Jake's small nod.  
  
He still feels breathless when Mikey kisses him.  
  
"We should go, I'm fuckin' cold," Mikey says when he pulls away.  
  
Jake laughs and starts the car.  
  
"It's a good thing I know a place we can get hot drinks to warm up, huh?"

**Author's Note:**

> I do have a sort-of-explanation for how this ship happened but it's pretty long and convoluted, so. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this! I really only wrote it as a stress-free exercise to take a break from the much more lengthy fic I'm working on, but I definitely had fun doing it.
> 
> I hope the layout wasn't too confusing or anything. 
> 
> Hit me up on [twitter](http://www.twitter.com/alcoholnregret) if you want updates on my nonsense, I guess.


End file.
